1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a folding-order image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine provided with an image memory having a memory capacity of at least one frame of a recording image to store an image signal provided by reading images of plural originals or divisional originals and record plural images on one sheet of recording paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a digital copying machine, image data read from an original image can be easily processed and edited in various manners by a known image processing system. Accordingly, there are many proposals for fulfilling many functions of the copying machine.
For example, an image-data outputting circuit is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 61-156195. In this image-data outputting circuit, the original image is rotated .+-.90.degree. and is processed and image data can be outputted by using effective methods for reading and writing the image data to a memory.
However, in such a general structure, it is impossible to perform data processing such as an image rotation by assigning a certain memory region within a page memory.
Further, a write starting or completing position, a read starting or completing position, and a stepping amount of data or a line unit are fixedly set when the page memory having a simple structure is used. Accordingly, for example, it is impossible to write or read the image data corresponding to paper size A4 from the page memory corresponding to paper size A3 by dividing these image data into two data sections.
When plural originals are copied and filed as a book by using a general copying machine, the plural originals are respectively copied and copied sheets thereof are stacked with each other.
For example, when plural double-sided originals are copied to form a document or material, it is necessary to bind the copied sheets by a stapler or a clip at any time even when a double-sided copying mode set within a recent copying machine as an additional function is used. Accordingly, when a large number of copies are required, it takes much time to bind the copied sheets and natural resources are uselessly used. Further, when plural copies such as copies reduced in size are bound into a recent business pocket notebook often used, no double-sided copying mode can be used and marginal portions of a paper sheet are uselessly used. Similar situations are caused when a copy enlarged in size is used.